Nevada PUC Denies Apartment Dwellers Rooftop Solar Access

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Nevada has long had a love/hate relationship with the rooftop solar industry. Despite having one of the highest insolation rates in the nation, it’s rooftop solar segment experienced a near-death experience when the Nevada Public Utilities Commission (NPUC) decided to eviscerate net metering at a December meeting in 2015.

After nearly killing off the segment, the legislature and governor came to their senses and reinstate net metering under a modified program, but serious damage was done – such damage, in fact, that the rooftop industry is still recovering from it.

On the other hand, the populace overwhelmingly passed into law a constitutional amendment (which will need to be ratified again in two years) that would put the state on the path toward a 50% renewable portfolio standard (RPS) by 2030. What that means, at least to most solar observers, is that despite hemming and hedging at the state government level, the people of Nevada overwhelmingly want solar energy.

Which brings us to the latest PUC decision.

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According to the Nevada Independent, the PUC decided against opening a rulemaking exercise in the case of an apartment owner with more than 9,000 units in the state who requested the right to put solar modules on the roof of their buildings in an effort to supply their tenants with clean, renewable energy.

Alan Molasky, which runs the property management firm Ovation MM, expressed his disappointment to the Independent:

“I am disappointed that the PUC has denied our petition, but I do understand the reasoning,” he said in an email. “They are concerned that they have the statutory authority under Nevada law. Fortunately, this can be fixed. I know that many of our incoming legislators and our Governor-elect are very pro-clean energy, so I am hopeful we find a way to enable us with the authority to move forward soon.”

Molasky says he had been prepared for this decision and is already trying to organize efforts to change the law that would allow the PUC to make decisions about such matters, which he rightly believes falls under their purview.

But the decision is maddening. Here is a company that wants to do the right thing and provide clean energy to people who might not otherwise have access to it, and here’s the Nevada PUC deciding to protect its own behinds by not making a decision. Their cowardice is multiplied by the fact that notoriously anti-rooftop-solar utility NV Energy brought its own pressure to bear on the PUC as this decision was being made.

Here’s hoping Molasky and his team won’t stop fighting so they can get this ridiculous decision by the PUC reversed legislatively.

More:

Proposal extending rooftop solar to apartments rejected by utility regulators

SEIA Broadens Its Reach By Making It Easier For Rank-And-File Installers To Join

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

In the past, some installers have grumbled that the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) is in thrall to installers and manufacturers who have big money to spend and that it didn’t care about the little guy. They would then point to the dues structure and suggest one of the reasons they refused to join was the expense was beyond what their bottom lines could handle.

Well, I’m here to say that SEIA must have heard the criticism, and it’s making changes to accommodate more of the rank-and-file installers that said they couldn’t join before.

SEIA announced the roll out of an updated membership structure, that introduces a Basic level membership for just $750 per year, and a new Premium level of membership – Watt membership – for $4,500 per year. These changes lower the barriers to join SEIA for smaller companies and for those just entering the industry, aiding SEIA’s advocacy efforts as the voice of the entire U.S. solar industry.

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“By expanding our offerings, we can bring more solar companies into the SEIA fold, ultimately strengthening our voice in Washington, D.C. and in state capitals across the country,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, SEIA’s president and CEO. “This is a significant shift in strategy for SEIA that will not only help us boost our influence, but also make us work more democratically, creating opportunity for companies of all kinds to engage in their own advocacy.”

The new structure provides Basic level members with access to valuable tools and materials, including SEIA’s Federal Tax Manual, webinars, the SEIA Sphere, and Division calls and meetings.

Additionally, SEIA is introducing a new online form on its website to make it quicker and easier to join the association. The “Join SEIA” landing page has also been updated with key information to make it more streamlined and easier to access.

These updates are effective immediately for new members. For current members, the new membership structure will take effect upon their 2019 renewal date.

This change also includes new Membership Referral and Ambassador Programs, which allow SEIA members to earn discounts on their dues, event tickets, sponsorship opportunities and more, by recruiting new companies to join SEIA.

Nevada PUC Sets Grid Guidelines To Encourage Distributed Energy Additions In Future

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

For all of Nevada’s struggles with solar energy – the inexplicable, precipitous shutdown of net metering that destroyed the rooftop industry for almost two years comes to mind – they are trying hard right now to bring about its renaissance.

First, they reinstated net metering. Now they’re on the verge of increasing the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) through a well-funded, seemingly popular ballot initiative. And today, the Public Utilities Commission (NPUC) adopted a framework that will require investor-owned utilities (IOUs)to create Distribution Resource Plans (DRP), which will determine what resources and grid upgrades the utilities will need to make to meet consumer demand for electricity.

Essentially, the PUC is requiring IOUs to be thinking about how to integrate more distributed resources on to the grid in ways that they haven’t before – which means more clean energy adoption in the future because the grid will be ready for it.

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Starting in 2019, NV Energy (NVE) will be required to file these 3-year distribution plans as part of their triennial integrated resource plans, which will allow periodic opportunities for stakeholders to review, refine and determine the grid needs.

Over the past year, IREC, Vote Solar, and Western Resource Advocates participated alongside NVE, the Bureau of Consumer Protection and commission staff as part of the rulemaking to implement Senate Bill 146 – a bill that aimed to evaluate locational costs and benefits of distributed resources by adding the new DRP requirement for utilities.

The results from the collaborative effort established these principal components of the Nevada DRP process:

load and distributed energy resource (DER) forecasting;
locational net benefit analysis (LNBA) to identify high- and low-value grid locations for DER solutions;
grid needs assessment (GNA) to prioritize and screen projects that will address identified grid needs; and
hosting capacity analysis (HCA) to identify the available capacity for DER at particular points on the distribution network.

“IREC appreciates the commission’s forward-thinking approach to this process and setting forth a strong framework for Nevada’s distribution resource planning,” said IREC Regulatory Director Sara Baldwin Auck. “Nevada’s work will ensure consumer-driven clean energy resources are integrated and optimized on the grid for years to come.”

These four components will operate in tandem with the DRP. Each must function on its own as well as in conjunction with each other to ensure the DRP properly addresses identified grid needs with distributed energy resources and traditional resource solutions.

“A well-executed Distribution Resource Plan has the potential to create substantial benefits for families and businesses by leveraging solar, storage and demand response technologies in locations that will make the electric grid run more affordably and reliably,” said Ed Smeloff, director of grid integration at Vote Solar. “With the new regulations, Nevada is putting itself on the leading edge in Distribution Resource Planning.”